Mr.Bottomtooth
07-15-2008, 12:48 PM
Keyon Dooling says he knew he wouldn't return to Orlando Magic
Brian Schmitz | Sentinel Staff Writer
11:40 AM EDT, July 15, 2008
Keyon Dooling, alternately angered and philosophical in the last few days, said Tuesday that he knew from the beginning that contract talks between he and the Orlando Magic were not going to lead to a return to Orlando.
The club signed veteran Anthony Johnson on Tuesday to fill the back-up point-guard role behind starter Jameer Nelson. Johnson accepted a two-year deal woth $3.8 million --- the same offer that Dooling rejected some time ago.
"It was a conflict of interest. The Magic had a certain amount of money and I didn't fit into their plans," Dooling said by phone. "There's no ill will."
But Dooling was upset in several conversations with the Sentinel over the weekend, although he requested that his remarks not be published.
The Magic had offered him the biannual exception --- a two-year deal worth about $3.8 million. He made $3.5 million last season.
He felt Orlando's offer was not in line of a 28-year-old in the prime of his career.
"They made an offer --- and we rejected it," he said Tuedsay. "It's a part of the business. I don't know if they thought it was like a courtesy thing to offer me that or what, but we were never on the same page."
Dooling, who played for the Magic for the past three seasons, told the Sentinel last week that he didn't believe he would be returning to Orlando.
"I think I left my mark there as a player and in the community," he said. "I really enjoyed my time there. Orlando will always have a place in my heart. I wish it could have worked out. But it's part of the business. It is what it is."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-bk-orlando-magic-keyon-dooling-071508,0,3501197.story
Brian Schmitz | Sentinel Staff Writer
11:40 AM EDT, July 15, 2008
Keyon Dooling, alternately angered and philosophical in the last few days, said Tuesday that he knew from the beginning that contract talks between he and the Orlando Magic were not going to lead to a return to Orlando.
The club signed veteran Anthony Johnson on Tuesday to fill the back-up point-guard role behind starter Jameer Nelson. Johnson accepted a two-year deal woth $3.8 million --- the same offer that Dooling rejected some time ago.
"It was a conflict of interest. The Magic had a certain amount of money and I didn't fit into their plans," Dooling said by phone. "There's no ill will."
But Dooling was upset in several conversations with the Sentinel over the weekend, although he requested that his remarks not be published.
The Magic had offered him the biannual exception --- a two-year deal worth about $3.8 million. He made $3.5 million last season.
He felt Orlando's offer was not in line of a 28-year-old in the prime of his career.
"They made an offer --- and we rejected it," he said Tuedsay. "It's a part of the business. I don't know if they thought it was like a courtesy thing to offer me that or what, but we were never on the same page."
Dooling, who played for the Magic for the past three seasons, told the Sentinel last week that he didn't believe he would be returning to Orlando.
"I think I left my mark there as a player and in the community," he said. "I really enjoyed my time there. Orlando will always have a place in my heart. I wish it could have worked out. But it's part of the business. It is what it is."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-bk-orlando-magic-keyon-dooling-071508,0,3501197.story